Policy Focus: Religious Influence
Petition Signers and Friends,
In today's update, we thought we'd focus on what we know best -- the separation of church and state -- and how Project 2025 erodes the symbolic wall between the two.
Many of you may not be familiar with our organization, California Freethought Day, but we are supporters of a secular government, particularly the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
But Project 2025 threatens that amendment and, if realized, will impact Americans of all faiths and worldviews, including atheists and Humanists, as well as Christians.
Let's take a look.
⭐ One of the most alarming provisions in Project 2025 is to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to give special treatment, suggesting that “grant allocations should protect and prioritize faith-based programs that incorporate local churches and mentorship programs.” (page 481) Many churches already receive significant tax advantages while skirting IRS restrictions. This would give them priority over any other non-profit organization and is rife with the potential for abuse.
⭐ Shockingly, it also suggests that DHHS “maintain a biblically based… definition of marriage and family” (page 481) while referring to grant recipients and funding priority.
⭐ On page 586, the project calls for an executive order (which, we’ll remind you, does not require Congressional approval) to protect “religious employers (to be) free to run their businesses according to their religious beliefs”. A statement that seems innocuous at first, until you read the following bullet: “Congress should clarify … that those employers may make employment decisions based on religion regardless of nondiscrimination laws” by ratifying Title VII’s discrimination protections.
Let’s be blunt: This would allow your boss to fire you because of your religion.
⭐ Many of us recall, during the COVID pandemic, that churches were advised to prevent the spread of disease by shutting down. Some churches defied that order and became “super-spreaders”. Project 2025 tells its readers that “the CDC has no business making such inherently political (and often unconstitutional) assessments and should be required by law to stay in its lane.” (page 453) It puts faith over our community’s health.
⭐ The project also requests, on page 333, to amend Title IX to “strengthen protections for faith-based educational institutions, programs, and activities”.
⭐ While on the topic of education, Project 2025 aims to “lessen the federal restrictions on charter schools” (page 331) while suggesting that families “should be able to take their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to the education providers of their choosing”, diverting funding from public schools to private, religious institutions (page 347).
⭐ And for the Department of Labor, Project 2025 reminds us that “God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest” (page 589) and suggests a Congressional bill that would require employers to pay their workers time-and-a-half on Sundays (the Sabbath).
There is, of course, plenty to dislike about Project 2025. Whether you’re concerned about climate change, LGBTQ equality, or veteran support, there’s something in here to anger just about everyone.
There’s so much, in fact, that some are beginning to distance themselves from it. But it’s hard to take those claims seriously when so much of the document is in perfect alignment with their stated policies.
We hope you enjoyed this closer look and remind you to check out our prior post on how Project 2025 would affect Veterans and the VA.
We also encourage you to support us and, if you’re near Sacramento, join us on August 17 for a screening of the documentary Bad Faith.
Please take a moment to share our petition.
Sincerely,